Public Hearing Scheduled for September 27, 2022
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 – At the September 8, 2022, Special Council meeting, the District of Sooke Council gave Second Reading to the Official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw No. 800. A Public Hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at 7:00 p.m.
To participate in the public hearing, you can:
- Provide a written submission before 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 27th.
- Email – send your submission to Corporate Services at corp@sooke.ca.
- Mail – address your submission to Corporate Services, Municipal Hall, 2205 Otter Point Road, Sooke BC V9Z 1J2.
- In-person – place your submission, addressed to Corporate Services, in the drop-box located at the main entrance of Municipal Hall at any time before the submission deadline or delivered to reception during office hours, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Address Council during the hearing, in person.
- The Hearing will take place in Council Chambers at District of Sooke Municipal Hall starting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. Overflow space is available, if needed, in the adjacent Fire Services Lounge.
- Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for those wishing to attend the Public Hearing. Persons wishing to speak, may sign up on arrival and throughout the Hearing.
- While speakers are not restricted to speaking duration, (speaker) limitations to assist with equity and fairness of all who wish to speak and avoid redundancy may be made at the call of the Chair.
Note: Written submissions must be received by 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21st to be included in the Agenda Package. Items received after this time and before 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 27th will be included in the Supplemental Agenda Package.
Documents:
For the latest on the OCP Review, please visit:
Media Contact:
Christina Moog, Communicators Coordinator
Tel: 250.642.1634, ext. 678
cmoog@sooke.ca
Background
All municipal policies, plans and regulations must be in alignment with the OCP. The OCP review is an opportunity for the District to ensure that the goals and objectives remain relevant and to update as needed, guiding the direction of land use in Sooke for the next ten years.
The evolution of the draft OCP in its current state is the result of significant community input. Hundreds of residents and numerous stakeholder groups have provided feedback through participation boards at local businesses, online forums, virtual stakeholder meetings, letters, phone calls, community pop-ups at local markets, at the Celebrate Sooke! event in September 2021, a Fall 2021 Open House with the OCP Advisory Committee, and a Spring 2022 Open House with Council.
After First Reading, in addition to the OCP Open House with Council, Council conducted a chapter review of the draft Bylaw over several public meetings (May 16, 2022, June 15, 2022, and July 19, 2022). Further review of OCP Bylaw No. 800, 2022 has been conducted by external agencies including Provincial Ministries and the Capital Regional District (CRD).
On May 18, 2022, the CRD Planning and Protective Services Committee considered Sooke’s Regional Context Statement favourably and forward it to the CRD Board for consideration.
On June 8, 2022, the CRD Board accepted Sooke’s Regional Context Statement.
Now that the Bylaw has been given Second Reading (September 8, 2022), the Bylaw will proceed to a Public Hearing.
After the Public Hearing, the public comment period on OCP Bylaw No.800, 2022 closes.
Following the Public Hearing, Council will consider giving the Bylaw Third Reading (final discussion) before it proceeds to Fourth Reading (adoption).
Related documents:
- Background Research Report
- Interim Engagement Report
- Phase 2 Engagement Report
- Phase 3 Engagement Summary and Engagement Summary Appendices
- Summary of External Referral Comments
- Public Correspondence: What We Heard Report
- See September 8, 2022 Agenda Package for more, including Annotated Companion Document (pp. 491-728) & Committee of the Whole OCP Discussions (pp.747-767)